Biosecurity and stakeholders: the rise of networks and non-state actors

This paper considers the biological weapons problem as a post-disarmament issue requiring 'management' or 'governance' rather than 'disarmament' or 'arms control'. This allows for a broader analysis of the BW problem, one where a range of relevant issues, threats, challenges and actors can be examined, as well as nation-states, international treaties, terrorist groups and the like. The paper therefore provides a more accurate depiction of the wide range of current efforts to minimise the chances of biology being misused for hostile purposes. It aims to explain how and why networks and non-state actors have emerged to play a bigger role in the governance of biological technologies.